On Friday night, I had the privilege of seeing the Brad Ellenberg Quintet in an Extended Play Session at Alternate Root TV.

Brad Ellenberg Quintet

This was the first jazz event at the Sessions and I was looking forward to being a part of it.

Brad Ellenberg Quintet (although Grant isn’t visible in this shot)

The musicians who comprise the quintet are Brad on guitar, Grant Smith on drums, Gary Bohan on flugelhorn (he also plays trumpet, but not this night), Mario Cerra on saxophone and Bob Abruzese on acoustic bass.

Brad

Gary

Grant

Mario

Bob

These are five talented musicians, more than half of whom attended Berklee College of Music. Each got several solos during the set which contained only original songs; that truly showcased their individuality.

The music was jazz that was heavily influenced by the blues. I discerned some gypsy jazz, Wes Montgomery (who Brad admitted was one of his influences), Dave Brubeck, and definitely some blues.

Brad

One aspect of this show that I particularly enjoyed was talking with the musicians both before and after the show. They are friendly and accessible; being able to interact with the musicians is part of what makes the Sessions so special.

Brad, Mario, Gary, Grant and Bob

While listening to the conversation with Brad, I had an interesting thought. If the making of jazz is an internal process as Brad described it, then it makes sense that introverted people are more drawn to jazz than extroverted people are. I mean the true definition of introversion – deriving one’s energy from internal sources. Thinking of my friends, most of the extroverted ones do not enjoy jazz. Although this is a generalization (to which I am usually not prone), I think it might be a valid point.

Brad

It was exciting to be part of the audience for the first jazz show filmed for the Sessions. Hopefully there will be more of them, because there are a lot of incredible jazz artists who either reside in or perform in the Boston area.

I do not know when this episode will air, but please bookmark the Extended Play Sessions to see when it does.